Ewald Notter
Wiley, $65.00, 407 pages
This book is geared toward education of future chocolatiers, but it is also very beneficial for the casual chocolate lover to know the love and painstaking care that goes into making these luscious creations. The works of art from chocolate shown in the “Showpieces” section are awe inspiring, and must take extreme time and dedication to perfect. This book definitely gives a new appreciation of chocolatiers and the work they produce. Molding, piping, painting, even weaving with chocolate; it’s all present in this compendium. For those in cooking school, if you have not yet covered chocolate and confections, this should be required reading for you. The author kindly details measures for all ingredients in Metric (g), US (oz) and by Volume (cups + tbsp), and lists all steps as simply as possible while also spending time on the science behind the construction. These creations were fashioned by professionals, using premium chocolate and couverture as well as professional candy tools. Trying this at home is not for the faint of heart.
Reviewed by Janet Wright